FBI Seizes ‘Secret Internet’ With Real Ads For Drug Dealers and Hitmen

This story has got MOVIE written all over it. There was a totally 'secret internet' where people could buy anything. When I say anything, I mean it. Apparently, even hitmen advertised their services through this very underground community.

The man who is allegedly behind it all is in custody, and the FBI has shut the sites down.

This was an encrypted section of the internet known as Tor that required special software, and used a form of currency known as Bitcoin.

Here is an excerpt from the story from NPR.com

It's not every day federal authorities get to bust a case like this. It involves millions of dollars, illicit drugs and a would-be assassin, all of which allegedly were bought and sold on the Internet, in a shadowy online marketplace known as the Silk Road. On Tuesday, federal authorities shut down that site and arrested 29-year-old Ross Ulbricht, the man they say is its mastermind.

Ulbricht, a.k.a. "Dread Pirate Roberts," reportedly was at times sloppy about covering his tracks, attaching his name, photo, and personal e-mail address to Silk Road business. That is how federal authorities eventually tracked him down and arrested him, according to the criminal complaint.

We should mention that Silk Road isn't a marketplace everyone could easily get to. It exists away from the World Wide Web, on the encrypted Tor network, in the "deep" or "hidden" web that's only reachable by using anonymizing software. But if you got to Silk Road, it was the largest online marketplace for illicit stuff, where everything from fake ID's to guns and drugs was available.

 Read or listen to the full story on NPR.com